Gamified promotions in shopping apps : the role of regret and its impact on purchase intention

Abstract

The topic of gamification has received more attention in recent years (Huang et al., 2019), particularly in the marketing context (Bauer et al., 2020; Berger et al., 2018). Prior research has shown that gamification has a positive influence on consumer behavior such as consumers’ purchase intention (e.g., Balakrishnan and Griffiths, 2018; Kim et al., 2020). As traditional promotions and advertisements often not catch consumers’ attention (Stipp, 2018), gamified promotions might be a solution to attract customers. When consumers earn a discount through gamified elements, this could increase their intention to redeem the discount (compared to a traditional promotion) and consequently make a purchase. Previous gamification literature focuses on flow theory (e.g., Berger et al., 2018; Waiguny et al., 2012) and self-determination theory (e.g., Bauer et al., 2020; Feng et al., 2018; Hollebeck et al., 2021). For our context of gamified promotions, we use regret theory to explain the effects on customer behavior. According to regret theory, consumers should feel stronger anticipated regret when they do not redeem the discount of a gamified promotion compared to a traditional banner ad promotion. This could be due to the fact that consumers invested more effort get the discount than if they had received it as a traditional pop-up ad. As gamification enhances positive emotions (Harwood & Garry, 2015; Koroleva & Novak, 2020), we further assume that the gamified promotion triggers such emotions in the consumer, which in turn lead to increased purchase intentions (Nasermoadeli et al., 2013). The study uses a scenario-based online experiment with a between-subjects design (gamified promotion vs. non-gamified promotion). Data from 96 respondents were collected and analyzed with M/ANOVA and PROCESS (see Hayes, 2018) in SPSS. Findings suggest that a gamified promotion has a greater effect on consumers’ purchase intention than a non-gamified promotion. The same is true for the effect on anticipated regret. The positive influence of gamified promotion on purchase intention is mediated by firstly the perceived effort to obtain the discount and anticipated regret and secondly via the enjoyment with the app directly and via anticipated regret (serial mediation effects). This research is novel, as it explains the impact of a gamified promotion on purchase intention based on regret theory. Prior research on promotions has rarely concentrate on gamification (e.g., Bauer et al., 2020). Based on the results, retailers should use gamified promotions instead of traditional banner ad promotions and the game should not be to simple so that consumers perceive an effort. As a next step, we plan to add two more studies. The first study should validate the results of this study. Further it should show that the results are independent of the level of the discount. The second study should focus on the reinforcement of regret. It should provide management implications whether a specified or an unspecified discount leads to higher anticipated regret and consequently purchase intention.